My Left Foot 4

Explorations for students
1 How important is social setting to the
story of 
My Left Foot
?
2 What is the status of (a) women, (b) men
in this society? How are they supposed
to behave? 
3 What is the attitude shown by society
towards disability in the film?
4 How does Irish society of the time view
Mrs Brown, Mr Brown and Christy
Brown? How do each of the characters
respond to these expectations?
5 Compare and contrast Eileen Cole’s
social class with that of the Brown
family, referring to key moments. 
6 What is the relevance of the fund-raising
benefit, to which we return repeatedly
throughout the film, to our understanding
of Christy and his family?
10
M Y L E F T F O O T
The World of the Film
Useful for study of: General Vision
& Viewpoint, Social Setting,
Cultural context, Themes:
disability, gender, class, artistic
expression.

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the coal. The hot colours and fantastical imagery of Halloween celebrations take on new meaning when
encountered directly after a long day of soul-saving prayers at the Church. This scene beautifully expresses the
simultaneous feelings of wonder and terror experienced by the child when presented with such things as bonfires
and the concept of purgatory.
A contrast to this environment is offered by Eileen’s introduction to Christy’s life. She is the first educated,
working woman we encounter. She speaks differently to the other characters in the film and engages with Christy
in an intellectual way. She represents a middle-class, culture within which Christy’s interest in art and literature
is celebrated. There are three scenes in the film that clearly illustrate this: (i) the exhibition of Christy’s work (ii)
the fund-raising benefit (iii) the dinner afterwards. Christy’s attitude towards this society is, however, suspicious
and this is revealed by the unsympathetic depiction of characters and the distance maintained by the camera
during these scenes.
The fund-raising benefit, to which we return on a number of occasions in the film, provides the sharpest
contrast with the inner-city community. (See Sample Key Moment Analysis, Appendix II). 
The Browns are shown to be uncomfortable and embarrassed in this setting, yet the mother’s pride in her son
is apparent. Earlier we had seen Paddy Brown’s discomfort at the gallery, barely listening to Peter praising his
son’s talent. He declines the dinner invitation that follows on the basis that the restaurant probably won’t serve
pints of stout. The gallery too, which is large, white and somewhat sterile, is in sharp contrast with the clutter and
dark tones of the Brown’s home. The dinner afterwards is an awkward, stifled affair in which Christy dominates
the conversation while the others look on disapprovingly. Christy makes his opinion of Eileen’s friends clear, when
he threatens to kick one of her dinner guests “in the only part of [his] anatomy that’s animated.” Adopting Christy’s
point of view, the camera swings around to reveal the other guests around the table and the diners seated behind
them: all dull-looking characters, who stare silently at the cause of the commotion. 
In both worlds, Christy’s disability is regarded differently. At home, his father would not accept him until he
proved that he was able to write, causing him to shout out ‘He’s a Brown’. The children did their utmost to include
Christy in their games while at the same time the teenage girls find him an embarrassment as they grow older.
For Dr Cole, Christy becomes her project and it is in this way that he is introduced into her world. When it comes
to the exhibition and the award ceremony, the people of this class regard
him with admiration but at the same time they keep their distance from
him, not quite knowing how to behave. We see this also in the guests at
the dinner party when he starts to shout and in the initial unease shown
by Lord Castlewelland. 
Each of the cultural spheres identified by the film are both embraced
and criticised. Christy needs to negotiate a position that allows a
movement between the two. He appears to find this in the closing scene
of the film, overlooking Dublin, sipping champagne with Mary and listing
the great Irish writers to whom he aspires.